The walls are going up!

We are reminded of Nehemiah this week as the workers begin to construct the walls of the new Dining Hall. We understand the excitement he felt while watching his people construct the walls of Jerusalem. The walls of Jerusalem were critical for the people of Israel – the walls meant that it was safe to return to God’s holy city. The walls of the Dining Hall are just as critical for the camp. Every single person who attends camp at Prescott Pines eats in a Dining Hall, and many ministry moments are shared over a meal or a cup of coffee. Pray that construction goes smoothly, and that the facility will be usable soon.

Finally!

Last week we finally received the building permit which allows us to start construction on the Dining Hall. Because of the age of the building, we are going to have to do more work than we had originally expected. It appears that the existing foundation and walls are not strong enough for the new roof and will need to be reinforced or replaced.

This week we have seen trenches dug for the cement footings, the foundation footings poured and the concrete block stem wall built. Next, we will back fill the area with dirt to bring the foundation up to the proper level, then they will start putting up the new walls!

Things are moving fast, and none to soon because our summer season starts in a few weeks. We have had terrific responses from our guests regarding the construction and we are all looking forward to the completion of this project.

Jim

"Buying a Share" of Prescott Pines

In 1944 a campoaign was lanched to create what became known as Newsom Hall, the first building on Arizona Baptist Estates (now Prescott Pines). Newsome hall was purchased from Reynolds Aluminum and outfitted to serve as the dining hall for what we now call Prescott Pines. Dr. J.M. Newsom, the buildin's namesake, was the exectutive secretary of the Arizona Baptist Convention from 1938-1946. Up until December 2009 when a storm put a pine tree through its roof, that building still served as the dining hall for Prescott Pines.

Records seem to indicate that it as a $10,000 investment. Considering all the lives impacted from 1944 through 2009 through the camp, it's likely that investment has experienced a very good eternal return, don't you think?

Thanks to that December storm, it's time to invest again. Time, building code changes and oppertunity now converge to allow us to renew "Newsom Hall" for another 65 years of effective ministry. The time factor - the building is now 65 years oldand it was used when originally purchased; code changes - in those 65 years the world of codes has changed and as we repair the building those odes are our reality; opportunity - with insurance funds for seed money, we have a rare, economically feasible opportunity to upgrade and enlarge the dining hall for Prescott Pines' next season of service.

The winter storm opened the possibility of a new roof, new lay-out, new infrastructure and new capacity for roughly $175,000. Throw in the insurance money for repairing the roof, and for an additional $120,000, future campers at Prescott Pines can enjoy the advantage of a larger, completely renewed dining facility. When you consider the original $10,000 in today's terms, we're looking at a remarkable value. If you use inflation as an index, the equivalent of the original $10,000 was $121,000 in 2009. So in effect, we can make these remarkable imporovements for the equivalent of a 1944 price. Not bad!

So here's your chance... and mine... to buy a share in the future impact of Prescott Pines. our goal is to discover 240 people, churches, businesses and groups that will invest in one or more "shares" of that future for $500 a share. At this writing, new "shareholders" have already purchased 22 shares. In faith that this is indeed an opportunity from the Lord, plans are completed, permit applications are filed and a contractor awaits the green light. You can help us turn that light green by making your investment today by check made out to Prescott Pines and designated for "Dining Hall", by online payment at http://www.prescottpines.org/, or by calling the camp to make a credit card donation (928) 445-5225. And here's to another 65 years of great ministry... and eating!

Repairs Are Starting to Progress

The weather during the last few weeks has included snow storms approximately every third day, so this has limited our building progress up to this point. However, on Monday of this week, we seemed to have turned a corner, and it appears that spring has finally come to the camp!

On Wednesday, we were finally able to start coating the inside of the Waste Water Treatment tank. We were unable to do this during the snow, because the special paint that we use must have five days of warm and dry weather in order to cure properly. Once the paint dries, we will be able to reconnect the system.

This week a group of volunteers from the SOWERS project tore down and hauled away the debris from Hilltop #2. The debris needed to be removed so that the county officials can come and inspect the foundation and make sure that it was not damaged by the fire, before we start the rebuilding process. We are starting to work on building plans for this new lodge, and hope that this will be the prototype for future lodges here at camp.

• Please pray that their are no more rain or snow showers in the next week, so we can finish the work needed on the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

• Please pray for the permitting and inspection process both for the Dining Hall and Hilltop #2. Pray that the paperwork would go through quickly so the rebuilding can begin.

• Please pray as we raise funds for the Dining Hall repairs and renovations that God would provide all we need.

Jim

One Repair Down...

Wow, it finally happened... the Waste Water Treatment Plant is back in the ground where it belongs!

Last week we had a crew dig out the excess dirt and mud from the hole where the tank belongs. There was so much material to move, they had to use a Bobcat tractor down in the pit, to get everything removed.

The crane came back on Monday to lower the tank back into the ground.

While we had the tank out of the ground, we used the opportunity to reinforce some welds and to repaint the outside of the tank to prevent rusting. We also installed a drain system so that the will not happen again (hopefully)!

Thank you for your continued support and prayers as we move forward with all the repairs.

Jim

Waste Water Treatment Plant Repairs - Update

You may be asking yourself, "Hey, why hasn't the camp blog been updated concerning the storm damages at camp?"

Well, we have been dealing with delays caused by the weather, so there has been little new news to share, until today.

For the past few weeks we have been having scattered snow showers, and the mud and slush from the snow melt has kept us from bringing a crane down from Flagstaff to lift the waste water treatment plant out of the ground for repairs. Thanks to the beautiful sunny weather we finally had in the last week, by Wednesday of this week, the ground was dry enough for the crane to lift the 41,000 pound tank out of the hole. We are now in the process of digging out all the mud and dirt that was displaced with the flooding, so we can reset the tank in the ground. In addition, while the tank is out of the ground, we will have the chance to sandblast and repaint it with the needed coating, the next step in the continued renovation of the plant to bring it up to current code.

Please pray that the rain this weekend does not stop us from resetting the tank next week! Too much mud means we will have to delay the process.

Jim

Meet The Newest Member of Our Team

Hi everyone! My name is Jackie and I’m the newest intern at Prescott Pines Camp. I’m a student at Arizona State University studying recreation, tourism, nonprofit, and special events management. Although I’m a student I’m in my final semester which requires an internship so I chose to spend that time at Prescott Pines. My goal in life is to eventually become a Christian Camp Director so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get started before I graduate. I’ve worked with camps before but never like this.

When I started I was so stressed about messing things up. I was not only the newest person on the staff, but I had also never worked for Prescott Pines before. However, what I’ve found during my time so far is that the camp office is such a relaxed atmosphere and so encouraging that it’s really easy to get done what needs to be done. I’ve only been here for a few weeks but I’ve already learned so much about the camp and the people that work here. I’d say it was the perfect fit for what I need. I’m really glad to be able to help the camp in the coming weeks and excited to see what else I will learn from this experience.